Too Much on Our Plait

First, I have to say -- this is blog post #60. That's just unreal to me -- cancer certainly has been a pain in the neck/blood/head for this family since this blog was first created in 2009. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and checking in. It still boggles my mind how supported and loved Jason and I are, though he certainly more than deserves that. On September 30, Jason finished his final radiation treatment totaling 50 sessions over 25 days, as well as his first month of aggressive, daily chemotherapy. Since then, he has been doing really well. He remains pretty stable mentally, and is physically healthy. Overall, he is enjoying his month of rest before the next phase of treatment. On November 2, Jason will receive an MRI to determine how successful radiation and chemotherapy were. The body and brain need time to heal from the damage that was done from treatment, which is why the MRI is scheduled for a month post-treatment. Immediately after his MRI, we will be meeting wit...

It has been a while since my last update. Lots has occurred. Jason has six treatments of radiation left. We soon will enter the next phase of Jason's treatment. He will be meeting with his neuro-oncologist in the next two weeks. From there, he will take his chemotherapy one week on, three weeks off for six months, unless his doctor wants to do something else. He will then have his follow-up MRI at the end of October/early November to see how effective his treatment was/is. October will be the longest month of this year. We saw the lawyer two weeks ago regarding our wills. We filled out the paperwork, and now we wait for each document to be drawn up, so we can sign them and make them official, legal documents. It was a surreal and sad experience, but necessary. Jason is struggling with the grief that his diagnosis has caused him. He has a wonderful therapist who is helping him work through these feelings. He also has me -- I will continue to be his sounding board and confidante, as ...

Two and a half weeks of chemo and radiation down -- two and a half to go. [Insert cliche "Livin' on a Prayer" chorus line here.] Jason is doing really well. No nausea or vomiting, not much pain except in his head every so often, but the doctor thinks it's due to the nerves reconnecting and reviving post-surgery. Overall, things are good with him. I, however, have been struggling of late. I've had two meltdowns at work. Unexpected for sure, but I was able to get through the rest of the day. It's come to the point now where everything is hitting me, and the reality of it all has finally found its mark. I've known the past two-ish months that I haven't really been taking care of myself. I was on a health journey, and it kind of went stagnant but stable earlier this year. It fell apart when all this happened. I ate whatever, didn't care the medicine wasn't working for me anymore, and didn't really bother with myself. Jason was my focus -- I wou...

One week of chemo and radiation down. Four more to go. Jason is doing well, but starting to feel the side effects a little. He's tired earlier in the day, and has some tingling/itching on his scalp, but that could be from the nerves resetting from surgery. We will be creating our wills. What a thing to think about.  I know it is something we need to think about, and something we probably should have done a long time ago, but with what's happening... ugh. I don't like it at all. It feels like we're speaking it into existence. I know that's not it, but it's the feeling, you know? I just hope that it becomes where you take all the precautions and it doesn't happen. That'd be lovely -- to not have to consider any of this until maybe 30-40 years from now. My parents have been amazing. They have been taking over transporting Jason to and from treatments each day so I can go to work. It's been a huge relief, but part of me feels like I should be doing all o...

It's nearly 3AM and I've got so much running through my head that I needed to do something with it. This is getting very real. Jason starts treatment in four hours. At 5:40AM, he needs to take his Zofran. At 6:10AM, he needs to take his oral Temozolomide, which is his chemotherapy. At 6:15AM, we need to be on the road to the treatment center where he will receive his first radiation treatment. From there, we will receive an official schedule for the times for his treatments each day. He will receive two radiation treatments per day for 25 days. The doctors recommended two smaller treatments per day versus one big treatment per day to lessen the possibility of long-term effects. Okie doke. Whatever helps my husband get through this. There's a lot to think about these days along with treatment logistics. 1. FMLA paperwork and preparing my classroom and students for my absence. 2. Finances, since Jason will not be working during treatment. 3. Setting up our wills...just in cas...

I thought I'd never have to come back here. It's been over 10 years since I wrote on this blog, and I had honestly forgotten about it. My mother, Adelina, told me I should resurrect it, since there is now something else to talk about. First, some background. I don't think I mentioned my husband before, or if I did, I didn't say much.  I met Jason at the OMG! Cancer Summit (now called CancerCon) through the organization Stupid Cancer in April of 2011. He was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at 6 years old in 1995 as a result of water contamination in New Jersey. He had suffered a stroke, which led doctors to finding the tumor. After an excruciating and long treatment of radiation and chemo, he went into remission. It was not without its problems, though. Jason had to have a spinal fusion in his teen years, and has been hard of hearing since treatment. Otherwise, he is an extraordinary person. He is bright, funny, and my perfect type of nerd.  I was not interested in being ...